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Who will make it through to the Semis?
After the chaos of the group stage, the serious tournament starts with the Round of 16. Will early favourites like Japan and Argentina make it far? Can Ecuador and Cameroon continue to upset projections and go deep in the tournament? As the Round of 16 heads into the Quarter Finals, it’s only the big names left in the World Cup of kits.
Round of 16
It's a close-fought thing between the Netherlands and England, with both scoring 14/20 in the group stage. The two countries both face a similar shortfall, with one kit being comfortably better than the other. For the Netherlands, it's their home kit – with its bright orange base and graphic pattern – that outranks their plain blue away kit.
England has the same problem but the other way around, with an underwhelming home kit and a great away kit. In the end, it’s England’s retro-inspired all-red away shirt that takes them into the quarter-finals, with the Netherlands unlucky to be knocked out so soon.
Winners: England
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Two heavy hitters meet in the second Round of 16 match-ups. Both of France’s kits are solid attempts, each scoring an 8 in the group stage, and it seems like they scored more than enough to make it through to the quarter-finals. What it all comes down to, though, is Argentina’s away shirt, one of the tournament’s best.
The Legacy Indigo and Purple Rush colour palette is an unexpected one, but it's the perfect basis for the flame pattern that takes over most of the shirt. Not only does it see Argentina into the quarterfinals, but it will probably go down as one of the all-time great World Cup kits.
Winners: Argentina
Belgium were slightly lucky to progress from their group, and it was mainly because of the quality of the Canadian and Moroccan entries. Belgium’s luck has run out, and it's a second-round match against the team with the kit of the tournament, and Japan’s origami-inspired designs guarantee they progress.
The star of the show is still the home kit, complete with an all-over print that references the idea of completing 1000 origami pieces to get a wish granted. The away kit also comfortably outranks any of Belgium’s, with the same origami cranes appearing across the shoulders.
Winners: Japan
It's another close match between Brazil and Portugal. Even though Brazil topped their group and Portugal came runners up in theirs, the two teams scored the same number of points. Portugal were more consistent over the two kits – each one scoring the same – but in the end, they’re just pipped by one of the World Cup’s all-time great sights.
For all the red and green diagonal lines, Portugal are no match for the green and yellow of Brazil. This year’s kit is a pretty classic affair, with the addition of a single button collar and a subtle jaguar print pattern both helping them to progress.
Winners: Brazil